53% of Israelis oppose Likud-Zionist Camp government

The number of participants in the poll, which comes only days before elections slated for March 17, was not given

Israeli opinion polls indicate that 53 percent of Israelis are against a post-election coalition government between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and the “Zionist Camp” alliance, according to a poll conducted by Israeli army radio.

Released on Monday, poll results showed that only 23 percent of Israelis would support a Likud-ZionistCamp partnership, while 24 percent remain undecided.

The number of participants in the poll, which comes only days before elections slated for March 17, was not given.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was quoted by Israel’s Channel 2 as saying that, in the event of a near-tie between competing parties, he would try to cobble together a national unity government.

This government, Rivlin asserted, would be tasked with changing the self-proclaimed Jewish state’s electoral system.

The Israeli leader said the country must avoid a politically unstable situation in which fresh polls are held nearly every two years.

Netanyahu had earlier said that he would not form a coalition government with the Zionist Camp alliance, which brings together Israel’s Labor Party and the Hatnuah Party of recently sacked Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.